Matthew 25-12.22.22

Scripture

Matthew 25:37-40 NIV

““Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Observation-What does it say?

Jesus tells 3 parables to illustrate what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. The verses above come from the parable that Jesus explained regarding sheep and goat. He put the sheep (righteous) on his right and the goats on his left. The righteous were rewarded because they loved and did something about the needy, hungry, sick and the imprisoned, which Jesus said was the same as doing it to Him. However, those on his left were not rewarded, but instead punished for neglecting to love in action those who were in need.

Understanding-What does it mean?

There is always action associated with loving people, just like there is always action associated with loving God.

It reminds me of what James said in James 2:15-17-"Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Also, the people that Jesus points out in this parable are not those who are well off or have their lives together. They are people that society tends to shun. People who are hungry, thirsty, needing shelter, needing clothing; those who are sick and in prison. Those are the people that Jesus points out for us not to neglect.

Life Application

How can I show love to someone today? 

Let's do one practical thing to show love to someone today, whether it is buying a homeless person a meal, being a pen pal and encouragement for someone institutionalized/imprisoned, feeding a hungry child, blessing a family with a gift card or meal who is going through grief, following up on someone's health issue, blessing someone with a fridge full of groceries, taking a friend out to a meal who is struggling, etc. 

There's a lot we can do to practically show love to people, specifically the broken, hurting and needy, which in turn is how we show love to our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Dear Jesus, you didn't hang out with the prestigious and righteous people of your day. You hung out with the broken, the hurting, the sick and the unrighteous sinners. Most importantly, you loved us so much to leave Your throne in Heaven to save us, and You did it in the most humble way. Thank you! May Your heart for people be ours. May we be intentional about loving people, "the least of these", through action. May we be more outward focused, than inward focused. Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi